US Will Regulate Nursing Home Staffing For First Time
September 1, 2023 10:08AM PDT
FILE – Tina Sandri, CEO of Forest Hills of DC senior living facility, left, helps resident Courty Andrews back to her room, Dec. 8, 2022, in Washington. The federal government will, for the first time, dictate staffing levels at nursing homes, the Biden administration said Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, responding to systemic problems bared by mass COVID deaths. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — An association that lobbies for health care facilities says President Joe Biden’s decision to require nursing homes to comply with federal rules on staffing levels will cost them billions of dollars.
The American Health Care Association calls the staffing proposal “unrealistic” and says it’ll worsen existing problems.
The government says most of the 15,000 U.S. nursing homes would have to add staffers and keep a registered nurse on duty 24 hours a day.
The move has been sought for decades by older adults and those with disabilities.
But the proposed staffing minimums announced Friday are lower than many advocates had hoped.
The nursing home industry opposes staffing minimums.
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